On Sunday afternoon we got a hellacious thunderstorm! We got so much rain in 15 minutes that our driveway was flooded out. So much rain came down that the King's driveway stone ( at his place of business) was washed away. We also got hail. That does not happen that often here. The storm passed and the sun peeked out for a few moments but was quickly covered up again by more clouds.
I read this fantastic book over the weekend.
It is the story of a Korean girl named Regret who realizes that her life in Korea in 1915 holds nothing for her. She manages to get herself married off to a Korean man in Hawaii. She gets there and realizes that life in Hawaii was not going to be the golden life she hopes for. Her husband turns out to be a real creep and she escapes him and goes to Honolulu.
She changes her name and furiously works toward a new life. There are a lot of historical facts woven into this fictional story which I liked. I lived in Honolulu for awhile in 1981 and could imagine the city in the early 1900's.
This is the blanket after I knitted the 3 sections and sewed them together.
Today is the day to honor my Irish ancestors. My maternal grandmother's grandparents came to America on the 1880's. I also have an Irish great great grandmother on my maternal grandfather's side.
I have my corned beef in the crockpot for later! I made Julie's Caramel Apple Cake. http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/03/13/sour-cream-caramel-apple-cake/ I will be making the potatoes and cabbage later.
I don't think we would be eating corned beef in Ireland though.
When I was a little girl, my sister and I would wear green on this day but our mom made us wear a little bit of orange because we are Protestant.
What do you know about Patrick?
From history.com It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)
Go here to take an Irish quiz! http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/all-things-irish-quiz
I noticed these sprouting up out of the ground over the weekend. Our temps have been in the high 40's/early 50's for a few days in a row, although we are back to no sun again! I believe these are jonquils or narcissus. Last year I separated some bulbs and planted them all over and now I forget where I put them!
This is a pink hyacinth leftover from Easter a few years ago. I can hardly wait to see the beautiful flowers that they will become. My trees are starting to sprout their spring growth. In a month my yard will be a wonderland again! I am tired of looking at the brown dull landscape.
Try this one:
This is a famous church near where we are going to move in Sicily. It is in Tindari. At the top is the Black Madonna. Every May people walk up to the church. our niece took this photo when they were there this year. I cannot wait to see it. It looks very ornate!
You can see the church on top of the mountain. My SIL and her husband had photos taken up there after their marriage ceremony in 1969.
My friend over at Bleeding Espresso had some great photos of other things you can see up there.
http://bleedingespresso.com/2008/03/touring-sicily-the-ruins-of-tindari.html
Here is a new one - Mark Strong - with an old one - Gerard Butler. This photo is from the movie Rocknrolla. The latest Guy Ritchie film. It's a great film, if you like Ritchie's style.
First you add the yeast, sugar and water to the mixing bowl. Let it sit until it looks like this. This what it looks like when the yeast is working!
When it has finished baking it will look like this!
Yesterday I watched this movie. I don't care for WWII movies but this was really good. It starts with an older man, Hector (Laz Alonzo) that works in the post office. A man comes to his window and he shoots him, dead. What??
A reporter (Joseph Gordon Levitt) comes to a policeman (John Turturro) who is investigating the murder. The policeman sends him with some other policemen that are going to look through Hector's apartment. They find the head of a statue. The head is from an Italian village. It is very valuableand has been missing since WWII. The reporter goes to Hector and asks him about the head. Then we get the story told through a flashback. 4 black soldiers cross a river in Tuscany, surrounded by Germans, find a child, and meet up with some Italians and what happens after. I won't give it away.
No more snow, blue skies acomin'!
Little P at work with the snow shovel. You can see bare spots due to the winds whipping the snow around. I think it will be quite windy for the rest of the day. But some of the snow is melting.
About an hour after my first post, the King had to go out to feed the birds. He cleared a path on the deck. It was snowed over in no time. I think we got about 5 inches or so in a few hours.
Well, here it is. March is in like a lion! When I got up this morning at 6:50 am, there was hardly any snow on the ground.
You cannot see the road in the front of our house. No trucks have been around to clear since they closed the public schools this morning.
Look at the pile on our little table! All this in a little over 2 hours!
You can actually see the snow falling in this photo!
